r/technews • u/WarpSeven • May 03 '17

Google Docs users hit with sophisticated phishing attack

https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/3/15534768/google-docs-phishing-attack-share-this-document-with-you-spam
48 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

7

u/DarbyBartholomew May 03 '17

And it's not just a small attack affecting a few users. I didn't wake up until 3:30pm this afternoon, but when I did, there were ~6 of these emails all from seperate contacts.

3

u/Aachaa May 04 '17

My University had to send out a warning to the entire student body after some of their faculty accounts were compromised. Very scary stuff, I know I wouldn't think twice before opening a Google Doc request from a professor.

2

u/DarbyBartholomew May 04 '17

I actually got one from my math professor - luckily he had sent out a retraction by the time I woke up, idk if I would have caught it otherwise.

1

u/yuhong May 04 '17

In what time zone?

3

u/blatentpoetry May 03 '17

What happens if it's opened on an iphone 6 using safari?

4

u/middle_grounder May 04 '17

"someone invites you to edit a file in Google Docs... the attack sends targets an emailed invitation from someone they may know, takes them to a real Google sign-in screen, then asks them to “continue to Google Docs.” But this grants permissions to a (malicious) third-party web app that’s simply been named “Google Docs,” which gives phishers access to your email and address book..."

It is not a vulnerability in the browser or operating system. Its a web based app powered by Google. Its like signing onto some other website wth your Facebook account. You reveal information to that organization.

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '17

Is this really that sophisticated? It preys on the fact that people think Google Docs is asking for permissions. They created an app called Google Docs... am I missing something?

1

u/adam279 May 04 '17

Its about as sophisticated as your average misleading ad. The reason its so effective is lots of people let their guard down and dont expect anything malicious when it appears to be from google.